World Resources Institute Reviews

Former Employee – worked at World Resources Institute full-time for less than a year

Pros – Was fortunate to have such a nurturing supervisor who genuinely cared about my experience working there. Absolutely talented staff with diverse international experience and very friendly. Some of my great friendships were started here.

Cons – Not a lot of collaboration and project interaction between different projects, generally confined to your own project and project team members.

Advice to Senior Management – Foster more interaction and collaboration between different projects, so staff can get to know one another better and learn what other staff are working on.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute full-time for more than a year

Pros – The institute is well respected worldwide and is doing amazing work. Staff are smart, and at the end of the day you can feel that you've worked toward making a difference.

Cons – Working an environment of smart people can be boring. People around here tend to spend most of their day in their office (or in their own head). It's not uncommon to say hello in the hallways and get a blank stare.

Everything decision is made by consensus (READ: nothing ever gets done). Leadership is very much lacking as promotions generally are driven by great research beng rewarded, as opposed to great management. This leads to an environment where no one is clear on their roles and responsibilities and unless you're a great self-starter, you will be confused about what you're meant to do.

Turnover is exceptionally high at WRI. This is driven by the fact that flexible funding is so scarce. The organization is worthy of 10x the amount of money it brings in per year. The funding model is broken. Staff therefore spends six months of the year working on their project, and the other six trying to justify staying employed at the end of the year.

Advice to Senior Management – You recommend and reward bold leadership in governments around the world, but don't apply this same standard within the walls of the organization. Be bold, take a leadership role. Consensus building is not the only way to inspire staff. Innovative leadership can be even more effective.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at World Resources Institute full-time for more than a year

Pros – Brilliant people, meaningful work, pragmatic

Cons – Unclear human resources, broken funding model, lack of passion

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at World Resources Institute

Pros – -They have a fun, liberal and educated workforce
-The office environment is very friendly and there is little gossip
-WRI is well known is the climate circles - hence a fairly respectable place to work at
-If you're in EMBARQ, you actually build things, not just write reports which no body reads!

Cons – -Unless you're in EMBARQ, where you actually build things, you will just write reports that no body reads!
-They discuss, negotiate and create unnecessary hurdles towards even the most important and critical tasks at hand
-Little space for new ideas and new initiatives. No matter how much you excel as an Intern and do things that others have not done who worked there for 20 years, they do not give you any recognition

Advice to Senior Management – They need to promote based on initiative, drive and ability of the person to not just fulfill their duties, but go beyond them. The current system is too hierarchical!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute

Pros – The opportunity to make changes happen on the grounds. Not only a think thank, but mostly a do thank. Great place to start!

Cons – Care to its wonderful reputation may sometimes deflect the institute from opportunities. The environment is not so multi-cultural in my perspective. People with such experience are dearth as well.

Advice to Senior Management – Be able to move the reputation concern and to take some risks. Also pay attention to the diversity concern in place.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at World Resources Institute

Pros – Interesting passionate colleagues who are extremely knowledgeable and willing to share.
Office building prides itself on being green.
Work-life balance is pretty good - most people have flexible hours or try to leave by a reasonable hour, though there are always workaholics.

Cons – Lower tiers (at least) are underpaid, relative to the value that they add to the work of the firm. The departments aren't really that well integrated, so often managers and higher ups are doing their own thing. Most of the work is grant-funded, so tends to stop when grants are done, and a lot of time is spent coding time billed to various projects.

Can be a bit heavy on the bureaucracy at times in terms of publications, approvals, hr, etc.

Advancement is usually dependent on attrition, so you may be waiting to move up the chain for a very long or very short time, and this isn't very dependent on meritocracy.

They rely a lot on very cheap intern labor to fill lower tier slots, which otherwise would be full-time paid positions with benefits and a stable work flow.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay your interns better, and find a way to make the grant-based funding system less onerous. Do not assume that everyone there can live on passion alone, although the culture that has been built around passion, knowledge, and non-political think-tank work is quite something!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute

Pros – - Highly qualified, diverse and well educated colleagues are the norm at WRI
- There is a good amount of interaction with decision makers external to the organization
- Friendly, laid-back office environment

Cons – - Compensation is extremely low
- High turnover rate means colleagues circulate through the Institute regularly
- Somewhat disorganized administratively
- Very limited interaction between individuals who work in different programs

Advice to Senior Management – - Offer compensation packages that ensure the talent you recruit stays with WRI for more than a short period of time before moving to a better paying position
- Host more events outside of the office to encourage staff to interact and get to know each other

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute

Pros – Opportunity to grow professionally, networking encouraged, supports values of respect, innovation, independence, integrity and urgency. Because WRI works at the intersection of environment and human needs, WRI's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. WRI is forward-looking, deeply interested in partnerships, knowledge sharing and synergies, and employs staff from a variety of cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds.

Cons – Sometimes staff are stretched thin - heavy workloads per person. Because we are a non-profit reliant on grants and donations, project and staff funding sometimes becomes a problem when looking to maintain long-term research activities.

Advice to Senior Management – Delegate more chunks of responsibility so you can spend more time mentoring, managing and promoting the organization, your team and your staff.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute

Pros – Brilliant colleagues, supportive and flexible work environment, opportunity to make a difference

Cons – Limited salaries (though no moreso than other non-profits), certain logistical/administrative processes do not run smoothly

Advice to Senior Management – N/A

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at World Resources Institute

Pros – Have people from various professional background and sub-fields that you can talk to (and learn from if you reach out)

Cons – "Loosey-goosey" structure where you really need to learn how to manage your own career path

Advice to Senior Management – less non-paid intern hiring but more entry-level skills building